Recently, intravascular surgical operation using vascular catheters has practiced for treating aneurysm and anteriovenous malformation (AVM) instead of ordinary surgical operation. A vascular catheter for this purpose must be inserted to the intended part of a blood vessel being passed in complicatedly bent or branched blood vessels.
For such a vascular catheter, high manipulability to insert it easily and quickly up to a target lesion passing in complicatedly bent or branched small blood vessel is required.
To have high manipulability, a vascular catheter must have the following four properties.
The first property is that the catheter can convey the pushing force in the direction of the axis added to the proximal end portion by the operator up to the distal end or has so called pushability.
The second property is that the catheter can convey the turning force around the axis added to the proximal end portion up to the distal end or has so called turnability.
The third property is that the catheter can be advanced in blood vessels along the guide wire inserted beforehand easily and without causing damage to the wall of the blood vessels or has so called pliability.
The fourth property is that the catheter does not kink at bents (curves and crooks) in blood vessels after the guide wire is removed or has reluctance to kinking.
J.P.B.3-81,390 discloses a catheter having a spiral reinforcement made of synthetic fibers embedded on the catheter. The catheter has reluctance to kinking, but the catheter has not good pushability and good turnability.
J.P.A.61-228,878 discloses a catheter having a spiral reinforcement made of metal embedded on a distal portion of the catheter. The spiral reinforcement has a repulsive power. The repulsive power causes a distortion of the distal portion of the catheter. Therefore, the catheter has not good turnability. In this catheter, it is difficult to be balanced between flexibility and reluctantly to kinking.